I find it baffling that President Trump and G.O.P. candidates can use fear of immigration and the migrant caravan as an election issue. Even with full control of the government, they have utterly failed to deliver on their promises on immigration. Ending the flow of migration across the southern border was a central promise of Mr. Trump’s campaign, but nearly two years later there is no border wall, and border crossings continue at a high rate.

I don’t want a wall, and I don’t support the anti-immigrant agenda, but even I can see that these are broken, empty promises. Don’t the people chanting “Build the wall!” at his rallies wonder why they’re still chanting the same thing this deep into his presidency?

The Republicans seem to be interested in this issue solely to stir up fear, because they’ve had ample time to produce actual legislation to address the southern border but have done nothing. Democrats should call them out on this failure.

Lizzie ScottBrooklyn

To the Editor:

President Trump is now blaming the Democrats for encouraging and funding the approaching migrant caravan from Central America. Isn’t it more likely that such a caravan would help Republicans in the midterm elections? The Republicans have a more plausible motive for encouraging the immigration caravan than Democrats have.

Susannah LinkGainesville, Fla.

To the Editor:

While President Trump continues to demonize migrants from Central America, why do we so seldom hear about the causes of this migration north? During the wars in the 1980s, the United States government spent billions of dollars in support of murderous dictators while creating devastation that left tens of thousand dead, millions displaced internally, more than a hundred thousand refugees in Mexico and shattered societies. The lasting legacy is violence, corruption and impunity.

Instead of rebuilding what we destroyed, the Trump administration now threatens the little aid those countries get, reportedly $500 million last year.

Common sense would tell us that what Central American countries need is economic aid. The overwhelming aid that Central America is getting now is billions of dollars every year from remittances sent by immigrants. This aid is all that stands in the way of social and economic collapse.

The United States is at full employment, and these immigrants are clearly contributing to this strong economy. We have a moral responsibility to aid innocent victims of disastrously misguided previous policies. If diminishing immigration is the goal, there is no better way than rebuilding these societies starting now.

Beatriz ManzBerkeley, Calif.The writer, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, is former chairwoman of its Center for Latin American Studies.

To the Editor:

The word “caravan” emerged in early modern Europe to refer to desert travelers. Later it signified a traveling home for Roma, and still later it came to describe motorized convoys.

The mainstream media have now picked the word up, unquestioningly, for use in stories about Central American migrants. But the word, as President Trump and Fox News use it, is meant to conjure a threat: the specter of barbarians at the gates.

Language matters. The migrant groups are made up of workers and families. They pose much less of a threat to our country than Russian influence on our elections.

Lauren BentonNashvilleThe writer is a professor of history at Vanderbilt University.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 26 of the New York edition with the headline: The Migrant Caravan and the Midterms. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe